Brain drain in numbers

We provide you the stark figures on the brain drain phenomenon that is going on in Malaysia.

Compared to average wages in Singapore, the UK and Australia, Malaysia’s wages are lagging far behind. A person of managerial rank in Malaysia, for example, earns only one-third of the wages in Singapore. Interestingly, for high-skilled occupations (e.g. managers, professionals and technicians), wages in Singapore are higher than those in the UK and Australia, especially for managerial level occupations and professionals. However, the opposite is true for medium- to low-skilled jobs.

Malaysia is still very much a country with low labour costs. Elementary occupations (e.g. cleaners, domestic helpers and agriculture labourers) pay only US$5,380 a year – half the wage in Singapore and a quarter of those in OECD countries.

To read the rest of the article and to access our e-Archive, subscribe to us for
RM150 a year.